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About Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 1908)
I Aunt Diana : The Sunthine of the Family I A QUIET, natural home I I story, this, but full of i-M character and interest for those who delight in domestic details of life. A young girl takes charge of a large family in a motherly fashion that wins re gard, and the incidents are all pleasing and consistent. This serial will greatly please home readers, and its influence cannot help but benefit and en noble the mind and the purer impulses of the heart. CHAPTER I. ' There ar conflict ia most lire real hand-to-hand combats, that bar to be fought, not with any fleshly weapons, but with the inner forces of the beinf bat tles wherein the victory Is not always to the strong;, where the young and ths weak and the little ones may be found abiding nearest to the standards. Such a conflict had come to Alison Merle, breaking up the surface of her moo tli outer life, and revealing possible shoals and quicksands, ia which many of her brightest hopes might be wrecked. "It la hard. I do not know that even If Aunt Di think It right I shall ever have the heart to do It," murmured Ali son, tnlklng to herself in tier agitation, after the manner of older folk. "I have just rooted myself in this dear place, and the soil suits me. I could not flourish anywhere else; and," Snisbed Alison, witt a quaint little smile, "sickly plants re worth nothing." To any ordinary spectator the interior of that little room would have presented a picture of perfect serenity and abso lute comfort. Even the young creature comfortably seated in a chair by the win dow, with an open letter and a cluster of deep red roses lying among the folds of her white gown, presented no disturb ing image, though the cheelc had lost its wonted fresh color, and tliefriark, dreamy eyes had a look of doubt that was al most pain In them. Two years ago she had been sixteen then, and, oh, how discontented and 111 and nnbappy she had been. It was not only the loss of her mother, It was her own Incapacity for responsibility, her morbid dislike to her surroundings, that had fretted all her fine color away. OJionge of air would do her good, and then Aunt Diana had come down upon them with the freshness of a moorland breeze. Ton must give your eldest girl to me, AInslie," site had said to Alison's father; "she wants care and cherishing more thnn Miss Leigh has time to give her." And, of course, Aunt Diana had her way. Instead of the whir of machinery for ,ler father's sawmills were Just behind their house Alison bad . now only to listen to the soft flow of' the river that glided below the green lawns and shrub beries of Moss-side; instead of waking up in the morning to look across the dusty sflirubs and trees to the vast wood piles and masses of unsawn timber, that seem ed endlessly between her and the blue ky, Alisen's eyes hud now the finest prospect; one shaded garden seemed to run Into anether, and when the willows were thinned or bare In winter time, what view of the river and green meadows on the opposite sl4I The moral surroundings were almost as much changed. Instead of Miss Leigh's dry method ef Instruction, Aunt Diana had placed within her reach many a pleasant short cut to knowledge, had sug gested all aorta ef enviable accomplish meats; awaey was not stinted. where All eon's talents could be turned to account. In this plessant but bracing atmos phere Alison had thriven and grown. She waa still a tall, slim girl, somewhat youth ful In look, but with plenty of warm life and energy about her; and though the dark eyes had still their old trick of dreaming, they seemed to dream more happily, and the shadow did not lie so deep in them not, at least, until the June afternoon, when Alison sat sighing and visibly disturbed with her lap full of roses. It was evident at last that she found her thoughts too painful, for after another half hour's intense brooding she suddenly jumped up from her seat, scat tering the flowers where they lay unheed ed on the Indian matting, and walked abruptly to the door. She had dropped her letters, too; but she went back and picked them up, not replacing them In tlmir envelopes, and then she went out Into the passage. A dark nk staircase led Into a little square hall, fitted up with bookcases like a library, with a harmonium on one side ; a glass door opened Into a conservatory, through which one passed Into the gar den. Alison turned the handle of a door just opposite the stalrcaae, and stood for a moment hesitating on the threshold. What a pleasant room that waa. half studio and half drawing room, full of cross lights, and artistically littered wish n odd jumble of medieval and modern furniture oak chairs and cabinets. ba ketwork longes, tiny tea tables, fit for Uliputlan princesses, and hanelns cut boards of quaint old china that gave warm coloring to the whole. Alison's eyes were till fixed on a lady who stood with her back toward her, painting at an easel. "Well, child, whet now?" The voice was nicely modulated, clear and musical, but cue manner slightly abrupt. Alison came forward at once and in spected tfi picture. "It is very pretty, Annt Di," she said, forgetting her own worries in a moment "It Is one of your beat. I tnink I see what you mean, but to me It Is all beautiful ; that old man a pensioner, Is he not? and that poor, tired sheep, that seems to tiav dropped down by the way, left behind by the flock, is so suggestive of th title, 'Noon tid Rest.'" "That Is what I intended. You are an Intelligent child, Alii; both th man and th sheep must b old; it 1 not for young creatures to rest at noontide; my old pensioner has already born th bur den and beat of th day." "Of course, I see what you mean, Aunt VI." "My parable Is not bard to read," re filled Miss Carrington, with a smile, but as Alison studied the picture with in creased Interest and admiration, a pair i shrewd, kindly eyes were studying th girl s face. "Go and put yourself In that easy chair opposite, and tell m all about It,' aha said at last, rousing htr by a good- fcnmnrnl tittle punli. "I mu.it finish this brnmth if I sm to enjoy my night's rest. but I can listen to any amount of let tered woes," with a suggestive glance at Alison's hand. "Oh, Aunt DI, how do you find out things so?" stammered Alison ; then, as though used to obedience, she moved to the chair that was always reserved for Miss Oarrington's visitors, whom she was wont to entertain after a fashion of her own. "I wonder how long I am to have pa tience," observed Miss Carrington, paint ing on Industriously, as Alison sat with drooping head, looking at her letters, with out offering to read tbem. "I am quite stirs those are nuclei's straggling charac ters ; that boy's handwriting la a disgrace to the family; It has put him out of my will forever; fancy one's nephew being such a sorry scribe." "Rudel does write badly," returned All son, with a faint little smile, "but I Jike his letters better than Minnie's; there is one from Miss Leigh, too ; do you admire her handwriting, Aunt Di ?" "No; it Is too thin and angular," re turned Miss Carrington, severely ; "It wants freedom and breadth ; it reminds me too much of Miss Leigh herself." "I do not think w are any of as very fond of her," Interrupted Alison. "I know she fidgets father dreadfully, and Roger, too, though he ia so good to her." "Roger is good to everyone but hJm self," responded Miss Carrington ; 'Twt even he, with all his good nature, has owned to me that Miss Leigh has a very trying manner. . You see, Alison, fussy people make poor companions. Miss Leigh has never lelaur for anything but her own worries; she Is too overweighted for cheerful conversation ; If she could forget Popple's misdemeanors, and Mis sis's pert n ess, and Rudel's roughness, and the servants' failures for about half an hour at a time, I could quite fancy Miss Leigh a pleasing companion ; but now let me hear her letter." "It Is dreadfully long," sighed Alison, as slhe reluctantly obeyed. It was evi dent that she wished Miss Carrington to read the letters for herself, but Aunt Diana held a different opinion. "My dear Alison," it began, "I am afraid that my weekly account will be little more cheering than the last; In deed, I am arriving slowly at the con viction that, unless some change be made In the household arrangements, I sliall be compelled, however reluctantly, to re sign my post." "Humph I that looks bad," from Miss Carrington. "I have done all I can In representing to your father the mischief that must result from his Injudicious treatment of Mabel ; she Is becoming so thoroughly spoiled, so entirely her own mistress, tliat no amount of reasoning has any effect upon hnr. I do not wish to lay any un due stress on her behavior to myself; but her treatment of Mr. Roger, nnd the bad example that she sets to Poppic, not to mention the constant bickering tlint Is always going on beween her and Rudel. are quite destroying the harmony of the household. You may imagine, my dear Allxon, how trying all this Is to a person of my sensitive temperament. "I always said it was a blnck dny for us when Miss Carrington took you away from J lie Holms. With all duo deference to your aunt's benevolence and good feel ings, I can not help thinking that a dnnghter's place Is with her widowed father. Of course, you will talk the matter over with your aunt, and perhaps you may be able to assist me to some so lution of our difficulties. j "PATIENCE LEIGH." "Pstlence has changed to Impatience." muttered Miss Carrington, grimly. "Sen sitive people never own to being out of temper, but I should have said myself that ttiere was a spit of Ill-temper In that letter. Poor Miss Leigh is decided ly ruffled." "She never could manage Missle: I al ways knew that," returned Alison, sor rowfully. "And how old is Mabel, or Missle, aa you call her?" "Sixteen last birthday, Aunt Diana." "Humph 1 there is not a more trouble some age. "Aunt DI, I have something very seri ous to say. These letters came two or three days ago, and I have been thinking about them ever since. I do believe Miss Leigh is right in what she says, and that I am shirking my duty." "Since when?" a little dryly. "Since I got quite well and strong and happy, about a year ago," returned All- son, answering most literally. "I ought to have gone back then, and not have stopped on her quietly, taking the good of everything, and enjoying myself Just as though I had no duties, and no place in lire. It is all my fault it Missle is getting the upper hand, and making ev ery one uncomfortable. I ought ta go home to father and Roger." There waa no immediate answer to this, but In another moment Miss Car rington bad walked to her slowly, and then, standing beside her, her hand strok ed the girl's hair with a mute caressing gesture. "Do not cry about It, Allle," she said presently ; but her own voice was not quite so clear as usual. "It Is not a thing to be decided in a hurry; we must look at it all around; Impulse is never a sure guide. No one Is quite their own mistress, even at eighteen, and I am afraid you will have to ask my leave, unless you prefer running away." "Oh, will you let me go, Aunt DI?" with a sudden start of joy, aa though the knots that her conscience had tied were suddenly cut through In a most unexpect ed way. "My dear, If It be right I will help you to go," was the expressive but somewhat curt answer to this; but as she spoke. Miss Carrington' hands pressed the girl's bead a little heavily. "Now," she continued, with a visible effort, "we must put all these trouble some things away for ths present; there is ttie dressing bell, and we have only time to get ready for dinner, and you know It ta our evening at Fernlelgh, and we shall have to be cheerful for Mr, Moore's sake," CHAPTER II. An hour and a half later Miss Carring ton and tier nlec wer walking quickly down on of th garden path until they came to a little gate set in th hedge : un latching It, tbey passed Into a neighbor ing garden, and then turned their faces in the direction of a low white house, with a veranda ruunlng all rouud it, and rose in profusion running over it. As niey did so, the notes of violin, evl dently played by a practiced hand, reach ed them. Miss Carrington' face bright ened, and, making a gesture to her com panion to move softly, she stepped up to a window aud looked through it. The room, If It were a drawing room, was al most a heterogeneously furnished as her own, but It bor th charactor of a li brary. Two of Hi wall were lined with bookcases; a grand piano and a harmo nious occupied some of th spaci there waa a round tail littered' with book, and a superfluity of easy chairs In every tag of comfort, arranged mor with a viaw to ease than apoearaaoa, A Inspection would bav pointed out certain bachelor arrangement some costly Turk ish pipes; a pair cl pistols, splendid! mounted ; some silver cups and tankards, with various inscriptions on them, all en graved with, the name of Orevill Moore, and purporting to be certain prizes In the half-mile race, the high jump, throw Ing the cricket ball and other feats of prowess, performed by some youthful ath lete. An elderly man, with a loni? whit beard and mustache, In a black velvet coat, sat with his back to the light, play ing the violin. His face, seen in repose, was clear rut and handsome, in spite of tflie de lines tlint time and perhaps many care had traced upon it; but his eyes were cast down, as though in derp meditation, an habitual action, for Mr. Moore had been blind half his life. He was ploying from memory an re quisite fngue from Bach. The thin, some what wrinkled hand bandied the bow with a precision, a delicacy, a masterly knowl edge, that seemed surprising In his situa tion. Apparently he was lost himself in enjoyment of the sweet sounds that he had conjured up In his darkness, for a smile played round his lips aa the har mony widened and vibrated, and his foot softly moved as though In unison. In i moment the fugue was ended and the bow lowered. "Is that yon, Sunny? Little witch, why have yon stolen a march on tlx blind man? Of course, yon have flowx through the window." "Aunt Diana set me the example," r truned Alison, demurely. "How do yoi do again, Mr. Moore?" "Oh, nicely, nicely; time always passei quickly with me In my own special world Have you given your aunt her favoriti chair? How does the picture progress Miss Diana? Sunny tells me It is on at your best" "Would you bav me praise my owi work?" returned Mis Carrington, bright ly. "I must leave you to Alison's crltl clsm. I hope to do something good be fore I die, and If I do not succeed, well, my life will have been happier for tlu trying." (To be continued.) WO NEW M0DE3 FOB KOBEANS. The? are. L.iketjr to Rebel It the Jap- anese Call For Different Clothes. It la reported that the Jntianese pro pose to force their own style of dresa upon the already rebellious Koreans. Such an attempt would nrobnblv be fol lowed by a repetition of the serious and In some cases sanguinary results that arose a few years aco out of the Japanese attempt to force the shaving or the Korean topnot, says the New York Sun. It oenis to be one of the peculiar twists of the Japanese national char acter that the first yoke thov wonld Impose on a subject people should be in the nnture of sumptuary laws. Al though free themselves to borrow from outside civilization nnd adapt to their own purposes all that tliey feel neces sary even down to the plug hat of con vention, the Japanese Insist whenever they have the chance and history has given them several chances at Koreans that those whom they rule shall fol low their domestic customs willy nllly. Now the Korean hates chance for change's sake first, nnd more botterly will he opjxise change when initiated by his lmpllcnble enemy from across Tsushima straits. In the matter of his dress the Korean believes that what has been good enough for his ancestors for unnumbered hundreds of veara is good enough for hlny even though doctors may explain to him that half the deaths In winter come from the ridiculously Inadequate linen lawn dress that he wears. Ills carb the seal of antiquity and flint's all the Korenn wants. The present Korean starched skirt and horsehair hat, shaped in the semblance of a fly-screen to set on u butter dish, are Just what the Chinese of the Ming dynnsty used to wear about four hundred years ago. The skirt and bagged trousers of the Korean, man and woman alike, are whlto winter and summer. Whlto is the mourning color all over Mongolian territories, and a strange story is told by the Koreans themselves to account for this mourn ing garb. It seems that hundreds of years neo there was an epidemic of polso.ilngs among the royal family. Crown princes, royal concubines and heirs of the blood were dying with unpleasant regularity. Kvery time there was a death In the royal family nil the subjects of the king wore forced on pain of death to wear the mourning color for the space of one year. The ancient Koreans grew so weary of paying forced respect to royal ghoBts that they became living ghosts themselves by donning the mourning white for good and all. That Is the way this dead land of the Orient becamo peopled with the white siiecters that now flit listlessly out of the path of the eonoiiorliiff Japanese, wondering In their dull way when rortune will turn and they will be rid of the little brown pest. The Koreans will probably continue to nnv exorbitant taxes to their conquerors, to stand passive while their agrarian and miueral tighta are taken from them. and to take with humility what the Japanese design to allow them ; but if the ineu from Japun attempt to trifle with what this spiritless shadow wears on his buck or on his head he will sud denly materialize into quivering, mili tant flesh. Uraa and the Drain. ' Most people believe that drugs af fect the brain. Yet this apparently Is not so, according to physicians. Drugs no more affect the brain tiian does lnsunlty that Is, not at all I ex cept alcohol, which doea Injure the brain, though not at all on account of Its mental efforts, but for the very different reason that alcohol has a chemical affinity for tbo albumen and fata of the tissues. Ry this chemical action it slowly altera and damages brain Itssue, but this result In no wise differs from similar alterations produced by alcohol In the tissues of the liver and of the kidneys. Tobac co Is a powerful poison, and yet no autopsies can show the yeast differ ence between the brain of a lifelong smoker aud that of one who never lit a cigar. Likewise, the brain of an opium fiend la Indistinguishable front any other brain, and so on for tha rest Drugs do affect the mind and will power, but not th brain substance Itself. FACTS IN TABLOID FORM. In point of geographical elevation Madrid Is the highest city In Europe. Much Canadian lumber goes to China, largely for railroad construction. A decided reduction of InrlfT rates goes Into effect In Denmark, January 1. The totnl number of sailing vessels In the world Ih double that of steam ers. The average number of deaths through railway accidents in Holland Is one a year. Tattooed portraits of the last six French presidents were found on the fkln of a burglar named lS-rtlu nrrest ed in Paris. Two million dollars will be spent in fiiiprowim-ntn mi the great steel plant of the Tnlted States Steel Corporation at Kinsley, Ala. A J.MXMiorscpowrr verticnl gas en gine, said to be the largest of Its kind, was recently put Into operation nt Run corn, England, driving an electric gen erator. Milwaukee Free Press. The promised American exposition to lio held In London next year has been thoroughly organized and special efforts are being made to secure exhibits from the western part of this country. Although there are only eighteen fin used in the International code of sig nals which is used by warships and merchant ships all over the world. they can be made to represent no fewer than :o,oo distinct signals. " The Wellnnd canal, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, Is twenty- seven miles long. It was begun In 1S24 and completed In 1833. Its original di mensions have been greatly enlarged. ami there Is now a depth of fourteen feet. Prof. Frederick Starr, a n th rnnol n a I f at the University of Chicago, has been made an officer of public instruction under the French government. The con sul explained that this was one of the highest honors in recognition of his work in Mexico. The winter of IGoS was a hnrrl nn In Europe. Charles X. of fivu crossed on the ice the Little Belt, the strait between Funen and the Peninsula of Jutland, with his whole army foot, horse, baggage and artillery. The rlv ers In Italy bore heavy carriages According to the accepted authorities there are 3,44 sjioken languages lu tho worm to-day; or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to suy dialects. Of this number 037 nre Aslntic, 5S7 European, J.O African and 1,GL4 American. By far the greatest number of these be long to savage and soml-savnge tribes and nations. . Frances Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken action against a cinematograph company for an act of unprecedented brutality to a horse. In a scries of pictures called ' 1 lio Lover's Revenge," a carriage drawn by a horse was seen to rush over the edge of a cillT and be dashed to pieces. The pictures had not been faked. On old blind horse harnessed to u carriage was really driven over the edge of the clilTs near Boulogne to obtain them, j The work of compiling a great tech nical dictionary, which was begun un der the auspices of the Association of German Engineers, has been abandoned on account of the great cost, which, it was discovered, would be four times greater than orlglnnlly contemplated. There Is great need of Just such a dic tionary as was proposed In all the arts, sciences and crnfts, and the decision of the German engineer will be heard with regret by workers all over the world. The Journal of the American Medl- cal Association has the following: Modern civilization furnishes no bet ter example than this of the possible victory over pestilence and disease, when the warfare Is carried on in the light of modem scientific knowledge. The building of the Panama canal and the sanitary record of the Japanese In their wnr with Russia are the two great object lessons of recent years, demon strating that men can neither work nor nght to the best advantage unless pro tected from infection and preventable diseases." One of the great railroads to the Pa ct flo const is perfecting plans for a for est of eucalyptus trees in San Diego county, Calif., from which to obtain a steady supply of crosstlcs. A ranch of 8,000 acres has been purchased for this purpose, aud as a start (UK) acres will be planted. It Is estimated that in eighteen years the company will bo abl to harvest from six to eight ties to a tree, and keep up the harvest thereafter continually. At present Ihe system uses about 3.000.000 ties annually. In eighteen years the company thinks it will be able to obtaiu from its forest 7,000,000 annually. Money circulates In Mexico from pocket to pocket. Almost eveay Mexi can In professional or business life car ries on his person anywhere from $-t!0 to $800. Even the poor Indian in his blanket can more hau likely produce a greater sum than the average travel er. It was but a few days ago, accord ing to observers, that one Mexican of the middle class asked another in n cas ual way if he could change a $1,0 bill. The other pulled out a wallet from his Inside pocket and counted out nearly (2,000. Time after time this hfTppe-hH, and It Is regarded as no un common thing for u Mexlnin of th Middle elan to carry between 1,000 and 2.0(H) pesos 011 his person. What Dr. Sven Hodin regards as tin greatest achievement of his recent ex plorations In India Is the discovery of that continuous mountain chain which, taken as a whole, Is the most miisslvs range on the crust of the earth, Its av erage height above sea level being greater than that of the Ilnmnhiyiia, Its peaks are 4.1HHI foot to 3,000 foot lower than Everest, but Its iwsnos av erage S.ooo foot higher than the Hima layan pusHoH. The eastern nnd western parts were known before, but the com tral aud highest part Is in Rongba, which was previously unexplored Not a tree or a bush covers it; thtr an no deep-cut valleys, as in t'.io Hima layas, for rain Is sui.ty. irt ii r-uy ;a Wm Elsie had been told, By som hobgoblin bold, To hang her stockings neat And then thia verse repeat ; Twleklede. brickledee, fee fl fo fum, Stocking, oh, stocking, much bigger be come." On CSirlstmks Eve, therefore, fche said these lines thrice o'er. Lol hardly were they said, When right above her head A pair of stockings wer That surely seemed, to her A giant to belong "Good night to you," she said, And clambered into bed, Quit sure next day would show Thm filled from top to toe. "Whoa there I my Jupiter, Gallant and Gray I Quietly, reindeer, a moment here Btay." And leaving them his sleigh, Old Santy made his way Quick down th chimney flu And through th fireplace, too. Dw m. whafa this I ?' It surely cannot b Non but a gredy miss Would hang such things as this!" Whloh ahowa that Tn onr 80 Santy sadly took The stockings from their hook, And in their place he put One meant for smaller foot ; Nor did he leave behind A gift of any kind. N'ext day, at sunrise, a llttl maid sobbed, Bitterly crying that she had been robbed, When right before her the goblin ap peared "Greediness robbed you," h said, aa he leered. The Hoy and Murgy thought and thought and thought. Finally they wont to Violet Amanda In the kitchen, for they did not want to let father and iimiHor know. It was to bo a surprise. This Christmas they had planned to keep the spirit of old St Nicholas In their hearts, and there were to be glftsj nought with money or their own earn l:ig. I low to earn It was the question. Violet Amanda had no suggestions to ifTt r, but Robert, tbo hired man, had an I lea. Now, to look at Robert you'd never believe he could, have an Idea slowed away under his black akin and woolly topknot; but looka are aome tiiiics deceiving. "Out In do medder," he said, slowly, as Violet Amanda poured him a second cup of coffee, "dey's a powful heap sight ob hlck'ry nuts on dem big trees, an' deys mo In de wood lof. Yo' alia could git money fo' dem nuta f dey wiis gaddered. Dey's jes' rip fo' fall In' out de shucks." "Murgy!" cried th Boy, "It's Just the thing. How much could we get for a bushel of 'em, Robert?" "I heerd somebody say," said Rob ert, as he wtped hla mouth on the back of his sleeve, "dat yo' could gtt two dollahs fo' dem dls Full up In de city." "We'll start the minute we've fin ished breakfast," they cried. Mother's consent to a nutting party waa given without question. Bags and baskets were provided, and a lunch of bread and butter, with honey spread between, and off they started for the clump of hickory treea In th aheep pas ture. Aa thay crawled through a hole In th garden fence they could hear the tra rustling In a very queer wsy for a still day, and pretty soon they espied somebody In one of the trees, shaking tt vigorously. "It's a man !" cried Margy, dismayed. "It's a thief!" shouted th Boy. "Come on !" And from far away ta yelled: "Yon thief! Con) down out of our trees I", But befor they reached tha spot th D!lCtliSlKl!iei man swumg himself down from tfte branches, and behold. It waa Robert grinning and chuckling. "I reckoned vo aTla couldn't (at dos nuts out da talW tree, an X don stuck 'em dovrn fch you." 80 their first affort yn made easy. That day's labor ahowd a fln start on tha nut heap, that grew aad grw la th corner of tha gafrt It waa not always so taty. After tha meadow trees wera atrtppod they had to hunt in tha woods, and often tha trees wera too high for th Boy to climb. Other time be and Marty coo Id go up together and they would both da nee on the limbs with all their strength, till the nuts cam rattling down In a jolly shower. Sometimes, as the October days grew colder, they would com home with teeth chattering and flngera and noses blue with cold. Then mother would thaw them out and fir them hot lem onade. And the pile of nuts In th corner of the garret grew and grew. You musn't think that picklnf up th nuts was all of th work. Not by any aort of means. For every ml had a little green houae of Its own; and al though sometime the four llttl walls of It fell away at a touch, oftcner th nut gatherers had to try fore. Two atones would do the business one to pound on and th otter to pound with. Fingers and tlmmba got pounded, too, sometimes, and If you want to know If It hurt or not. Just try poundlny yur own finger sometime when It la half frozen. But that waa part of ths affair snf mother'a arnica bottl and salve would stop tne ache and dry the tears. Then, too, It waa very interesting to unwind DID YOU KINO. GOOD BIB! forefathers had their troubles. Cincinnati Post. the long, narrow rag and show the wound to father after supper. All through the nutting season neither father nor mother asked one single troublesome question, so that made it easy to keep the secret, although both Margy and th boy wer nigh to burst ing with the importance of It And th nut pile In the corner of the garret grow and grew. Every time they added to their hoard the whole was carefully measured till at last ther were three full bushels, heaped to running over. Uncle Tom waa lot Into the secret, and he came over en day when father and mother ware gone and took away the nuta. Two days later h came back looking very Important "Hullo, children," he said, "come out In th woodshtfi with mo a minute. The old black cat's out ther washing her face." Out there, behind the chip pile they never looked at the black cat, but Uncle Tom opened his hand and showed them six big round silver dollars. "There's your Christmas money," he said. "Well divide even," said th boy gen erously, "even If you are the little-eat, because you worked Just as hard. So there's thre of 'em for each of us." "What a Christmas we'll hava," cried Margy rapturously. "The best ever. If great fun doing things ourselves." And so th sweet kindly spirit of good old Saint Nicholas lived again, and grew and grew In th. hearts of Margy and the boy, just aa th nut pile had grown In th garret No, Indeed, tha aoul of Saint Nicholas Is not dead, and will never die so long as ther are hearts on earth full of gen erosity and lov. Portland. Oregonlan. Christmas Day, There are no definite allusions In the writings of any of th disciples of Christ as to th dat of his birth, nor has ther ever been produced proof of any character as to the exact period lu the year when Christ was torn. There are, very true, occasional references to the went la th Scriptures, Indicating that the Nativity occurred In the win ter season. The Institution of the anniversary dates back to the second century of Christendom, and it ihas been since uni formly celebrated by nearly all the branches of the Christian church with appropriate rejoicings and ceremonies. The frequent and somewhat heated controversies, however, relative to the date of Christ's birth early in the fourth century led Pope Julius I to order a thorough Investigation of the subject by the learned theologians and historians of that period, which re sulted In an agreement upon Dec. 2.1, and that decision seemed to have so settled all disputes that that dat was universally accepted except by th Oracfk Church. Wlitl this data never changed, th reckoning of It nnd accordlna to tha flrerorlsn i andai, which waa adopted la th Ut ter part of th sixteenth century, a tOon which comnntatlona of ttma n'. nearly an civilized nations bar alno rested. Amarlcan Queen. lAttl Jekssf'i Ilesolatlaaa. "Nxt IW!ayll be Now Yetur'a 4ay, Said llttl Johnny Lake. "Soma reMrlootloaa, mom decktr, I really oagbt to mak. Moss's promld to stop gossiping An' so has Slater Sue. I guess IH resolut a bit Le' see what shall I do? "I'll reolnte, I gness, to quit ' A-rpIittln' klndlln' wood; Then pop'll bar to do that work, ? Lik fathers always should. An' then, whll I'm a-deln' It, tm 1 . . The Sunday school, fer goin' thr With me don't make no hit. "I'd lik to resolute some way To git myself a goat; I want a buttln' billy ram With whiskers on his throat An' then 111 resolute, I guess. To beat up Tommy Hunt t lie's took an' stole my girl front ma, Th doggone llttl runt I "I rckon that' enough fr m To resolute jlst now; At any rata, I'll mak that do It'a plenty, anyhow. ' Les s I start on Nw Year's day. Wall, that ain't very fur. Won't mom be tickled when she finds How well I't minded her?" Denver Post Ckrlatsaaa la Klasj AlfraeV Rain. In King Alfred' time, and a5 through th mlddl ages Cnriatma bV gan on At Thomas's Day and laatwi' until Twelfth Night, and was moreover as much a fesUval for fathers and mothers as for their children. There was no pantomime, it Is true; but there waa a Lord of Misrule, elected In every important household, at court, at the universities and above all, at the Inns of Court ; and it was his busi ness to see that there -were no lapses Into seriousness during the Christmas holidays. He was a very expensive In stitution, It seems; for In Edward VPs reign, when It waa the business of the authorities to make the poor little boy king forget all th murders that wer keeping him on the throne, the Christ mas revels wer particularly costly and the Lord of Misrule's costume alon cost 52 8s. 8d. New York Globe. Tha Worm Tarned. Mrs. Oobwlger While it's true that women wear men's neckties, you surely couldn't expect me to appear In public In such a monstrosity as this. Where In the world did you ever get such a ? Cobwlgger My dear, that's the on you bought for me last Christmas. Judge. A Tints ot Peril. Clarissa I'm always glad when New Year'a day is safely over. Fidelia Yea; It Is saddening anni versary. Clarissa Oh, I don't mean that Clarnc and I alwaya have a horrid quarrel auggestlng Improvement In each other"a conduct "Jassle Christmas!" Llttl Jessie woke up on Chrtatmaa morning and called to her four-year old Bister Mary: "Merry Christmas!" "Jessie Christmas!" promptly an swered the baby. Btaek aa Haad. Bradds Going to make any new res olutions this year, Spikes? Spikes New ones? I should say not. I've got a lot of old ones I've neve used, by Jova! DISCOVERED!!